Gallifrey Rises
by Rixel
Summary: Alex's life begins when she dies. As an escapee from a frozen Gallifrey, she must find the Doctor so he can save her people. Only problem is, Jack Hartness and Torchwood have erased her memory. A race against time as Alex tries to figure out who she is and how to save a planet she doesn't even know is in danger.
1. The Crash

The wind ruffled through her hair, just as it always did. To her, this was home. The feeling of her blonde curls being tossed around her was the most comforting thing she could ever feel, of that she was certain.

She closed her eyes, letting the feeling of the wind overtake her senses. It was warm out, but the breeze was cool. The jeep bounced lightly as it glided over a pair of railroad tracks. The sun wasn't very high up in the sky yet, but already the day felt like it had lasted an eternity.

"Did you get those seventh page sketches done yet, Alex?"

"Seriously, Mark. I know you are not talking about work on a break!"

Alex opened her eyes, looking towards the front seat of the jeep. Two of her coworkers, Mark and Jerry, were sitting up front and despite Jerry's remark, it seemed they both still wanted to know the answer to Mark's question. Alex looked to her side, where another coworker, Helen, was sitting. Helen didn't seem interested in the conversation.

"I'm working on it." Alex said, then closed her eyes again.

"I need it before lunch." Mark said.

Helen groaned. "We're on a break. That means no work!" Helen wasn't particularly fond of her job, and often sought ways to escape it. Their morning run to grab coffee was one of those escapes.

Alex smiled at Helen. "I think he's just trying to keep the topic off that little blond girl in engineering."

Helen's mouth dropped. "Mark! Camilla is half your age!"

Alex closed her eyes, knowing her distraction worked. Helen loved gossip almost as much as she hated her job.

"What?! It's not like I'm planning anything!" Mark said.

"She's a nice one." Jerry remarked.

Alex turned them out and went back to the feeling of the wind in her hair. The only reason she went with them on these silly pointless breaks was because they always took Jerry's jeep. They were usually back in less than the allotted break time, and really she only had about 3 minutes of time in the Jeep, but it was 3 minutes that she loved.

They pulled up to Java Hut, the familiar small coffee shop, and a cute woman in a low cut top came rushing over towards the Jeep. She had long wavy red hair and a nice smile. The two boys in the front straightened up as Helen rolled her eyes. Java Hut wasn't the best coffee, but it was the closest. That was the only reason Helen agreed to go there.

"Hey Jerry, Mark. Here are your drinks." The red-headed girl smiled.

"Thanks, Sarah. You are a lifesaver." Mark smiled luridly.

"Yeah, you're the best." Jerry said, leaning over Mark so he could be a little closer to the red-head.

"Good morning, Sarah." Helen said, making a point to draw the girl's attention away from the boys.

Sarah grinned at the girls in the back seat. Her voice rang with a sweet British accent. "Morning, Helen. Tough day already? You ordered a stronger drink than normal."

"You wouldn't believe it." Helen groaned as she reached across Alex to grab her cup. "Contracts are burning like bridges all over the place and the new copier seemed to be a hungry hungry hippo."

The coffee girl giggled a little, then handed the last cup to Alex. "I like your shirt, Alexis. Very nice."

"Thanks." Alex said, taking her cup from Sarah without looking at the girl. There was a slight awkward pause as the red-head seemed to be waiting for more of a reply, but Alex didn't give her one. She didn't like the way the girl was always there. The way she gotten to know them. Sure it was probably just good business, but it always made Alex feel just a little bit uncomfortable.

"It's not as nice as yours, Sarah." Jerry said.

"Yeah, that's a real nice one." Mark added.

Helen groaned. "Alex, let me see your watch." She pointed to the small silver chain hanging from Alex's pocket.

"What? Why?" Alex asked.

"Cuz Jerry's stupid Jeep clock doesn't work and I want to know the time."

Alex shook her head, pulling the small silver pocket watch out of her pocket. "It's broken."

"Ten thirteen." Mark said, holding up his wrist to show off his watch.

"We better go, boy." Helen remarked.

Jerry frowned. "Sorry Sarah."

Sarah pulled her eyes away from Alex, who'd she been looking at the whole time, to send the boys one last big smile before bounding back into the coffee shop.

"We seriously need to get ourselves one of those." Jerry said, putting the Jeep into reverse.

"Yeah, who has a guy secretary, anyway?" Mark grumbled. "Let's get rid of ...of... whatever his name is-"

"Francois." Helen said.

"Yeah, that french guy-"

"He's not French." Helen said, leaning forward as the rushing sound of wind started to overpower her voice. "He's just got a French name."

"Whatever." Mark said. "We need Sarah as our secretary."

"Where is she from, anyway? She's got a weird accent." Helen crinkled her nose.

"Maybe it's French?" Mark said.

"It's not French." Jerry spoke up. "It's British. Haven't you guys ever seen Harry Potter?"

Alex closed her eyes again, letting the wind take over her ears. Conversations like this were quite normal, but she agreed with Helen. Not because she particularly liked Francois, but because she didn't need that weird little red-headed girl getting any closer than she already was. Really, it was starting to get creepy.

There was a loud pop that made Alex flinch. She wasn't sure the source of the sound, but since the Jeep didn't bounce at least it wasn't their tires. She didn't even think about opening her eyes until they stopped again, but a sudden outburst of profanity from the three other passengers changed her mind. Alex opened her eyes just in time to see the semi truck crossing paths in front of them as it started to tip over. Her head bashed forward into the back of Mark's seat as the breaks were slammed, but it was too late. Sparks flew as the back of the truck pummeled into the ground and momentously propelled towards them. The grinding sound of metal on concrete was amplified as the front of the jeep crumpled as it collided with the truck. Mark, who never wore a seat belt on their coffee runs, was tossed out the top of the open Jeep, which Alex couldn't tell if it was facing up anymore or not. She didn't even see what happened to Jerry. One minute he was there, the next his seat was covered by a sheet of metal. She heard a sick squeak come from the side, but before she could turn to look at Helen, the momentum of the collision reached her, twisting the metal frame around her arms and pulling her away from the Jeep itself.

The truck metal snapped the backseat in half, sending her and her part of the seat flying past the edge of the road. The metal cage from the top of the Jeep came down and crushed her shoulder against the torn fabric of the seat. The change in terrain to grass slowed her down and eventually she came to a stop. Alex screamed out in pain, but what she heard was all inside her head. Her ears were preoccupied with the sound of her heart pounding furiously. Though she couldn't tell if it was just shock, she didn't feel any pain. A few scraps on her legs and arms, but the way she'd landed, and how the cage wrapped around her, she hadn't been hurt.

A loud roar caught her attention. She glanced back up towards the scene. Standing amidst the wreckage was a giant ...thing. She didn't know how to explain it. It was taller than the overturned semi and covered in a weird red fur. A monster. It's head swung side to side, scowering the wreckage.

Alex jerked, trying to pry herself free from the cage. She needed to get away, but she was stuck. What the hell was that giant monster thing?! Where did it come from!? She struggled again, but she was stuck. All she could do was hope and pray the thing wouldn't see her.

A soft buzzing noise came from behind her, and then she heard a crack. The bars wrapped around her chest fell down to her lap. Alex turned to find the girl from the coffee shop kneeling beside her.

The monster roared again. Alex glanced up to find the thing staring down directly at her.

Oh crap, it was really staring at her.

It took a step forward, kicking away the semi truck with ease.

"Come on!" Sarah yelled as she yanked on Alex's arm.

Alex didn't argue. She scrambled out of the broken seat and started to run with the coffee girl. Alex cried out as pain raced out from her shoulder. Never in her life had she felt pain like that. Fortunately, the fear and adrenaline was enough to keep her moving forward. The two of them ran towards the coffee shop. Behind them, she could hear the monster thing roaring. The sound echoed inside her chest, which only intensified the pain in her shoulder.

Alex stopped running and dropped to her knee on the ground. The pain was far too intense and was getting worse with every step.

"Get up, get up!" Sarah yanked on Alex's arm.

Alex's head started to swirl with darkness. She could feel the monster's footsteps as it came closer to them, but getting up wasn't an option.

'I'm going to die here.' Alex thought to herself, before her body collapsed and she blacked out.

* * *

_A/N: An attempt at a new story. Any feedback/comments are greatly welcome. :)_


	2. The Hospital

Alex awoke with the ghost of memories from her dreams. She knew she had dreamt something important, but all she could remember was the color blue and burning. So much fire and burning.

She moaned to herself as she turned her head and opened her eyes. Part of her realized she was in a hospital, but it didn't fully set in until she saw a man in a long trenchcoat standing beside her bed.

"Uncle Jack?" Alex asked in surprise. Her voice cracked. Her uncle lived in England, even though he was American; he was the last person she'd expect to see. Then again, he was the only family she had.

Jack Harkness looked down at her and smiled. "Nice to see you're waking up, kiddo."

Alex smiled back and tried to lift her hand towards him, but pain shot through her body again.

"No, don't move." Jack said. He leaned forward and put a hand on her shoulder to keep her down. "You don't have long. I gave you an adrenaline shot."

"You...what?" Alex coughed.

"Alex, you have to trust me. You trust me, right?"

She nodded and bit her tongue. The pain was getting more intense.

"I need you to regenerate. Right now." He said. "I've already opened your watch. We can reset it again once you've changed."

"What?" Alex asked again. "I don't-"

"Yeah, I know. I'll explain it once you wake up." Jack grinned at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Just think of a new beginning, okay? You need to dream that you're someone else, someone new."

"But Uncle Jack-"

"Alex, trust me!" His voice was incredibly stern for the comedic uncle she knew.

She winced as the pain started to pulse in her shoulder.

Jack lifted up a needle and glanced down at her. "I promise, I'll tell you everything when you wake up."

His arm lowered. Alex assumed he injected something into her, but the pain from her shoulder was too intense to notice.

She fell asleep soon after.

* * *

This time when Alex came to, Jack was asleep in the chair beside her. She slowly lifted her arm towards him, all the while expecting pain. But there wasn't any. She glanced down at her hand, then lifted her other arm to rub her shoulder.

While the muscles felt a bit off, there wasn't any pain. 'Odd', she thought. 'Shouldn't I still feel a little bit of soreness?'

Alex reached over to the side of the bed and hit the button to lift her up. As she tilted forward, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced forward to find a mirror on the wall at the foot of her bed. At first she thought it was another patient opposite her, but as the bed started to raise as the same time as hers, Alex realized it was a mirror.

She cocked her head to the side. That wasn't right. The person in the mirror looked completely different. Instead of her normal shoulder-length blonde curls, long dark hair draped over her shoulder. That wasn't all that was different. It was hard for her eyes to adjust to the distance, but she could see the face in the mirror wasn't right at all.

Alex leaned forward. Her body felt fine, with no pain at all. Taking a chance, she swung her legs off the side of the bed and slowly shifted her weight onto them. Still, no pain. Alex stood up and walked carefully over towards the mirror. Her body started to shake as she approached it, but she didn't think it was because of her wounds. In fact, the mirrored reflection didn't show any wounds at all.

No, this wasn't Alex in the reflection. She grabbed a handful of her hair and lifted it up to her eyes. Brown. She dropped the hair and placed her fingertips on the mirror.

The girl looking back at her was taller than Alex. Her face was a little rounder and her eyes were closer together and green. There were even a few freckles across her nose.

"What the..." Alex took a step back.

Jack grunted as he lifted his head. Alex turned to look at him as he stretched his arms up above his head.

"Uncle Jack, don't freak out!" Alex said quickly. Even her voice sounded different.

Jack opened his eyes and looked over her carefully. Instead of asking who she was or being scared, he smiled. "Ah. I see it worked."

"What?" Alex stammered in surprise to his reply. "Don't...I mean...but..."

Jack cracked his neck and got up to his feet. "Relax, Alex. This is a good thing."

Alex felt a chill run down her back. "But I'm not me." She whispered.

"Of course you are!" Jack walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You just regenerated, that's all."

"What?" Alex felt her throat going dry. "I don't understand."

"I know." Jack pointed over towards the bed. "Sit down and I'll explain, okay?"

Alex nodded and did as he said.

Jack didn't sit down right away. He walked over to the wall and hit a button. A tiny window opened in the door and a woman's face appeared.

"She's awake. Set up an apartment nearby. I think we'll keep her in the country this time." Jack said.

"Of course." The woman replied, and the window shut.

It was then Alex started to notice how this wasn't a normal hospital. The walls were concrete and the door was steel. There was an observation window off to the side and no other beds in the room.

"Where am I?" Alex asked.

"Torchwood. Back in Cardiff." Jack said as he took a seat in the chair across from her.

"You flew me from America to Wales?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Of course." Jack's face softened. "You were...I'd never seen you that badly hurt before. I...I thought we were going to lose you for good."

Alex stared at him. She wasn't used to seeing her uncle in such a serious mood. It was disconcerning enough to almost make her forget about her appearance. Almost.

* * *

"I don't get it." Tim leaned over the keyboard and placed his hands on the desk. His monitor held the display of the room Alex and Jack were in. "Why does he bother telling her the truth if he's going to wipe her memory again?"

"You don't have kids, do you?" Gwen asked from behind her own desk.

"Think about it," Tim said, ignoring Gwen. "All he has to do is wipe her memory now and everything is back to normal. All he is doing is hurting himself by telling her everything and having her get mad at him."

"You wouldn't understand." Gwen said with a small sigh. "She's his only real family."

"But that's not true either, is it?" Tim answered back. "They're not related."

"No." Gwen agreed. "But he's known her far longer than you or I have been alive."

Tim frowned at this, and didn't reply. He watched the screen as Jack explained to Alex about her history.

"You shouldn't worry about it, anyway." Gwen glanced over at him. "It's not your job to keep an eye on her."

"No, but Sarah tells me enough to keep me curious."

"Your job is filled with aliens and one girl is making you curious?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I just don't get it." Tim shook his head. "I mean, why not tell the Doctor she's here even?"

Gwen's face paled a little, though Tim didn't seem to catch it. "He can't know she exists yet."

"Right, but he's a time traveler." Tim tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So there has to be a future Doctor that knows about it that comes around this time, yeah?"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "If you can't understand Jack Harkness, you'll never understand the Doctor."

Tim sighed and looked over at Gwen. "It's not like-" He froze in mid-sentence, staring at the outside camera screen on the wall. "Oh crap."

"What?" Gwen's head snapped in the direction Tim was looking. She slammed her hands down on the desk and bolted to her feet. "Warn upstairs! I'll grab Jack!"

* * *

"217 years old?" Alex looked down at her hands. She was barely 25 before. This body might not even be that. "But I have memories of being a child. Memories of you."

"I know." Jack replied. "We had to wipe your memory and replace it with a realistic representation of who you are. You can't stay in the same place long without attracting suspicion."

"Because I'm a time lord?"

"Mostly because you don't age." Jack smiled. "And yeah, because you're a time lord. We can't let anyone know. Not even you."

"You know." Alex said. "Your team knows, I assume. Torchwood or whatever they are."

He grinned. "We once let you go without wiping your memory and after about a year you started to get glimpses of your memory back, but it drove you mad."

"Let me go? It sounds like I'm a fish you caught." Alex frowned. "I think I'll chance it."

"You always say that." Jack grinned.

"And let me guess, you think you know what's best for me." Alex narrowed her eyes. She loved her uncle, or at least she thought she had. Now she wasn't sure what she thought of anything. Or how often she'd died and changed. "Exactly how many times have I said it?"

"Forty-seven." Jack said without hesitation.

Alex flinched. That caught her off guard.

"To be fair, you've only regenerated twice." Jack said. "Changed faces, I mean."

She sat down and tried to process it all. "I'm an alien that can change faces and doesn't age."

"Yeah." Jack nodded. "That's about right."

"How do you know?" She asked.

"Hm?"

"Well, how do you know what I am? How did you find me? You said that my world was in danger so you had to clear my memory to keep hidden, but how did you get involved?"

Jack paused for a moment. "I ran into your family on accident. Your parents died. They said they escaped from Gallifrey, but I knew that couldn't be true and-"

"How?" Alex interrupted.

"What?"

"How did you know they couldn't have escaped."

He paused even longer. "Because I know the only man who ever did escape from Gallifrey."

"Who?"

Jack smiled. "It's a bit complicated."

"I can keep up." Alex folded her arms.

Before Jack could say anything, the door swung open. A woman, severely out of breath, stood in the doorway.

"Jack, we need you."

"Gwen," Jack looked at Alex, then back to her. "It's a really bad time."

"It's outside." Gwen said, almost under her breath. "He's here."

Jack straighted up in his chair. "Does he know?"

Gwen shook her head. "I don't know."

"Stay here." Jack told Alex as he jumped to his feet.

"Are we in danger?" Alex asked.

"Just stay here." Jack told her. "Gwen, stay with her."

Gwen frowned. "But-"

"I'll be back." Jack hurried out the door and left the two girls staring after him.

* * *

_A/N: I'm looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested. I think I better have one this time around. I always re-read through everything before I post it, but it is impossible to catch everything. If anyone is interested send me a PM. Thanks! :)_


	3. The Escape

Alex started to walk to the door after him, but Gwen stopped her. The woman didn't say anything, just shook her head.

Alex looked over her for a moment. She didn't know if she could take the woman, but she doubted it. Torchwood was military or something like that, Alex figured. Plus she had no idea how this new body worked or how strong it was.

"You know I have to go after him." Alex said.

"You know I can't let you do that." Gwen replied.

"Whose here?" Alex asked.

Gwen didn't reply at first. Alex wondered if she was going to say anything at all, but the woman eventually muttered "A dangerous friend."

"If he's a friend why are you afraid?" Alex started walking to the door again. This time, Gwen grabbed her arm.

"Because he may be after you." Gwen said.

"After me?" Alex frowned. "What did I do!?"

"It's not about what you did." Gwen sighed. "Oh dear, I've said too much."

"I've been incredibly calm about you guys wiping my memory and all." As she said it, Alex realized it was true. Perhaps because deep down part of her understood? "And if uncle Jack is really going to do so again, then it doesn't hurt for you to tell me, does it?"

Gwen looked off to the side. She took her hand off Alex's arm, but didn't step away. "Just wait for Jack, okay?"

Alex grumbled and sat down in a chair. She didn't like this. Secrets, lost memories and lies. Her uncle had better give her a very good explanation AND let her remember it.

* * *

"Are you insane!?" Sarah raced after Jack as he pushed out the front doors. She glanced behind them to make sure no one noticed them.

"I'm not doing anything wrong." Jack said. "Just saying hi to an old friend."

"But she's downstairs! What if he can sense her!?" Sarah had to quicken her pace to keep up with Jack's long strides.

"Time lords can't sense each other, Sarah." Jack laughed. "No more than you can sense when I'm around."

Sarah frowned as they closed in on the big blue police box. "It's too risky."

"With all due respect, Sarah, it won't kill me."

That caused her to smirk, but it didn't lessen her concern. "I'm sure you're aware there's things worse than death."

The pair of them came to a stop as they reached the police box. Jack lifted his hand up to the door and, after a brief pause, knocked.

To Sarah's relief, there was no answer.

"He's not here." She stated the obvious.

"It's big in there. Maybe he's taking his time." Jack pounded on the door once more. "Doctor! Open up!"

* * *

It felt like an eternity to Alex before the door to the room opened again. However, the girl from the coffee shop was probably the last person she expected to do so.

"He's not there. We need to expand the perimeter." The blonde coffee girl said as she stuck her head inside.

Gwen placed her hands on her hips. "Sarah, how did you let him get away?"

"Oh, this is my fault now?" Sarah blinked. "I do recall you were the one on watch, right?"

Gwen narrowed her eyes at the girl, then sighed. "Fine. Watch her." She gestured to Alex.

"I don't need a babysitter." Alex scoffed.

"We really don't have time to argue, Gwen." Sarah said. "Hurry up."

Gwen shifted her weight back and forth a few times before she finally gave in and bolted out the door.

Sarah eyed over Alex. "You look different," she said as she turned to follow after Gwen.

Alex darted forward and caught the door just before it latched shut. She grunted to herself in congratulations, then poked her head out into the hall.

There didn't seem to be anyone around. There was a camera at the end of the hall, but it was facing down another direction. Even so, she figured she had a chance to get by before anyone noticed with the confusion going on. She slipped out into the hall and let the door close behind her.

Okay, step one done. Now she just needed to figure out how to get out of the building.

* * *

"Jack, I'm not finding anything." Gwen said as she swiped through data on the computer. All the cameras were coming up with nothing helpful. "I don't think he's left the TARDIS."

The speaker on her desk made a loud banging sound as Jack's voice came through. "Open up, Doctor!" Jack shouted. "We need to talk! Don't make me hitchhike again!"

"Mike says he thinks he found some suspicious activity about 20 miles south, but it looks more like alien activity than the Doctor." Sarah said as she hurried into the room and grabbed a tablet off her desk.

"Why's that?" Jack's voice asked through the speaker.

Gwen punched in Mike's screen into her computer. "Because it's a weapon."

"Great." Jack sighed. "Perfect time for an alien attack."

"Want me to go check it out?" Sarah offered.

"No. Our primary objective is the Doctor. We need to find him before he finds us." Jack said.

"Jack, we have the TARDIS." Gwen pointed out. "He's not going anywhere."

Gwen and Sarah looked at eachother while they waited for Jack to reply. Finally his voice crackled back over the speaker.

"Fine. Sarah, go with Mike. Gwen, I need you to stay on the cameras. And make sure Alex doesn't leave her room!"

Sarah hesitated for a second. "Jack, maybe we should just wipe her and let her go?"

"No. I want to talk to her again before we do that." Jack replied.

"Just let her go then?" Sarah said. "What's wrong with that? Even if she runs into the Doctor, it's not like he will know who she is. What's the harm?"

Jack's voice deepened. "Because if he finds her and finds out that Gallifrey still exists prematurely, I don't think the universe will be happy with us."

* * *

It took a while, but Alex finally found the stairs. At first she thought she would just be looking for a door marked EXIT, but with the lack of natural windows, she soon figured out she was underground. After that, it was just a matter of find the staircase.

She took each step quickly but carefully. She struggled to listen for anyone coming after her, though everyone seemed to be distracted elsewhere. Alex breathed out a sigh of relief as she reached to the top of the stairs and saw a door at the end of the hall. With no one around, she darted off to the doro and pushed through it out into a large entrance room.

"What the!?" Alex gasped to herself as she skidded to a halt. The room was enormous, at least three stories high. She could see balconies and stairs with a nice light wood paneling. It was like a fancy reception hall entrance. She shook her head. No time to think about that. Alex ran over to the clear doors and pushed her way outside.

The sun shot down on her, forcing her to blink, but it was chilly outside. She knew she was somewhere in Cardiff, but that didn't mean much to a girl who grew up in America. Well, at least her memories were of growing up in America. Who knew how long she actually lived there.

She stayed along the edge of the building until she spotted a road that went off away. Alex hugged herself and ducked down her head. She wished she had a hoodie or something that would disguise herself, but for now she just needed to run away.

There were people wondering around, which was good and helped her blend in more. Of course, she had no idea where she was going. After she was sure she put in a good distance between her and the giant building, Alex slipped into a store.

As she opened the door, a small bell chimed to welcome her. The smell of old books and incense filled the air. She hurried towards the back of the store and paused as she passed by novelty shirts and sweaters. None of them would really disguise her much, but she grabbed an oversized sweater and a hat and headed to the back of the store. Alex hid in the corner and threw the sweater over her head. Without any money to pay, she didn't have any other choice. A twinge of guilt hit her as she stuffed her hair into the hat and pulled it down over her eyes. She had severely underestimated her new body and the sweater was far too long for her. She pushed the sleeves up so her hands could remain free.

"Well that's a horrible disguise. You're not even trying, are you?"

Alex jumped and spun towards the voice. A man with dark curls leaned up against a bookcase. His arms were cross over a fancy, though slightly worn, dresscoat. His voice sounded disappointed, but there was a strange spark of excitement in his eyes.

"What-what do you mean?" Alex asked as she tried to remain calm.

"Oh come on." The man said and waved over her outfit. "The incredibly large sweater that no human would possibly wear? And the hat?" He reached forward and snatched the hat off her head.

"Hey!" Alex tried to grab it back from him as her hair tumbled down over her shoulders.

The man looked over the hat. "Again, no human would be caught dead wearing this. Terrible idea." He tossed the hat back at her and Alex caught it. "Best to turn yourself in now."

Alex's face turned red. She'd been caught red-handed and there was nothing she could do. The worst part is, she had no idea if this guy was from Torchwood or just trying to get her on theft. She took a step back and her heel hit the bookshelf against the wall. There was no escape this way. Dang it, the man had blocked her only escape.

He sighed and put his hands on his hips. "You Slitheen are always wanting to do things the hard way, aren't you?"

Alex flinched. "What?"

"Come on, now." The man gestured his hand to her. "Change back. Time to go."

"What are you talking about?" Alex tilted her head.

"Don't play dumb. I can smell you fowl creatures a mile away. I know you've got a fire weapon on you as well, since I've been tracking you for almost an hour."

"You really have the wrong person." Alex shook her head. "I don't have any weapons."

"Oh really, is this what you're going to do?" The man rolled his eyes and pulled out a small metallic stick from inside his coat pocket. He pointed it towards her. "Alright then. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Alex jumped backwards against the bookshelf behind her and put her hands up in the air. "Don't shoot! Please! I'll go back! Just don't tell uncle Jack!"

A light at the end of the stick turned on and the stick started to hum. Alex shut her eyes and covered her head. For the second time, she knew she was about to die.

"Oh dear."

Alex slowly opened her eyes and lowered her arms enough to look at the man. He tapped the stick on his hand, then looked over it carefully.

"What's wrong with this thing? Why isn't it working?" He tapped it on his hand again.

A misfire. Alex let out a sigh of relief and looked passed him. Now was going to be her only chance for escape. She leapt forward and managed to swing around the man. Alex let out a giggle of triumph just as she ran head-on into a squishy wall.

She bounced back a few steps and managed to keep from falling over. As she looked up at the thing that blocked her path, the man came up behind her.

A large creature. That was the only way she could describe it. Well, a large SMELLY creature. It was greenish and round and had big, black, buggish eyes and stunk so bad Alex had to actually cover her nose.

"Ah." The man said behind her. "Seems I owe you an apology."

The greenish blob-like smelly creature lifted up a rather large gun and pointed it at Alex's chest.

"I'll apologize later." The man said and grabbed her hand. "Run!"


	4. The Running

chapter 4 – run

Alex allowed herself to be pulled back by the man. She turned and started to run with him. Behind them, she could hear a large roaring sound and an intense heat at her back.

The man pulled her behind a bookshelf row and down towards a wooden door. She didn't know if he was taking her back to Torchwood or not, but right now anything was better than that creepy thing.

He pushed through the door and out into a narrow passage. They raced between the buildings, but didn't head to the main road. Instead he took her towards the back alley. Behind them Alex swore she could feel the fire licking at their heels. They rounded the corner of the building to find themselves in a service alley with no way out. Alex and the man skidded to a halt as the base of the building and turned around.

Alex spun on her heels and stared back up the alley at the creature. It's large eyes reflected the ignition flame from the large gun it held.

"Now what?!" She looked at the man. Even if he was with Torchwood, she'd take her chances with uncle Jack's temper over this crazy thing.

The man pulled out his silver rod again and pointed it at the monster. He didn't look scared, though he did take a step in front of Alex to shield her. "Good evening, I'm the Doctor."

The creature paused for a minute, then continued to walk towards them.

The Doctor shuffled his step. "You really aren't looking well. And you smell atrocious, you know?"

"Don't anger it!" Alex growled.

The creature stopped walking and laughed. The laughter was high pitch and would have sounded feminine if it wasn't so gargled.

"Oh Doctor," it said. "You can't stop me now. You're cornered."

"That's not true." The Doctor said, straightening up. "I'm merely temporarily disadvantaged."

"What?!" Alex stared at him. It really didn't seem like the time to be joking around.

"Hand over the girl and you won't get fried." The creature said.

Alex swallowed hard. That thing meant her, didn't it? She didn't know why. As far as she knew, Torchwood only employed those of the human quality. Right?

"Fat chance that's going to happen." The Doctor tilted his head in amusement. "Then again, you are quite fat."

"Enough Doctor!" The creature roared and took another step towards them. There was still a great distance between them, but Alex swore she could feel the heat from the little ignition flame.

The Doctor put his arm out to hold Alex back. It was a useless gesture, she thought. She wasn't going anywhere.

"Why her?" The Doctor asked. "Don't tell me you broke into a high security UNIT office to steal a powerful flame thrower just to capture a little girl."

"Hey!" Alex said. "I'm not little!"

The creature narrowed it's eyes, though they were still larger than Alex's fist. "Last warning Doctor!" It lifted the gun up a little and aimed towards the pair of them.

"Wait, wait wait!" The Doctor put both his hands out and waved them towards the creature. "Think about this. If you torch us, you'll have a dead girl on your hands instead of a live one!"

"The Nightvale do not care if she is dead!" The creature replied.

"Oh. Well in that case," The Doctor grabbed Alex's hand again and pulled her off to the side. "Run!"

Alex was going to argue that there was nowhere to run to, but then she heard the weapon charging, and a moment later, felt the heat blast of a flame that just barely missed them. She let herself be pulled along by the Doctor over to the edge of the alley. Now they were completely trapped. There was no where to go. Alex looked up, but the closest window was at least four stories up.

"We're trapped!" She said.

"Nonsense." The Doctor tapped his metallic rod against his hand. "Just...let me get this to work...ah!"

The rod in his hand started to buzz, and a loud pulsing humming noise filled the alley. Before her eyes a tall blue police box started to materialize in front of her.

"What the...?" Alex stepped back as the box came into full vision before them.

"Inside, quickly!" The Doctor pushed open the door and ran inside. Before Alex could argue that it would be a tight fit, he grabbed her hand and yanked her inside.

* * *

"Where did it go!?" Jack spun around in the courtyard. The TARDIS, there only moments before, had vanished.

"I can't get a lock on it." Gwen said through his earpeice. "I think it was a local jump."

"I should have grabbed on again." Jack growled. He tapped the earpiece to switch it to open communication. "Sarah, Mike. Have you found the troublemaker yet? The Doctor might be on his way to you."

"No." Sarah's voice crackled with static. "There's no signed of a forced entry, and the tapes are clean. I think we are dealing with a shape-shifter here."

"Great." Jack grumbled. "Gwen, keep searching the-"

"I've got a lock, Jack." Gwen interrupted. "Not far from you. An industrial alley 3 blocks away. I'm sending the location to your GPS."

"Send it to Sarah and Mike as well." Jack started to run. "Where the Doctor is, there's always trouble."

* * *

Alex tumbled inside the blue police box. She barely managed to keep from falling over. As she straightened herself up, she looked around. Her eyes reforcused themselves to find that she was actually in a large building. She glanced back at what had to be a hidden entryway only to see the doors were closed.

The room was cavernous with a column in the center that flayed out in a hexagonical shape around waist height. Above, the column sprayed out in a way that reminded Alex of spider's legs. They were metallic and industrial looking. The Doctor was busy running around the center part, his dark curls bouncing as he dashed to each point. Upon closer look, Alex noticed the column was filled with buttons and switches.

"It's a control panel?" She asked in realization.

"What good would a spaceship be without one?" The Doctor glanced over at her with a small grin.

"Oh." She said quietly as she looked around some more. This hadn't been at all what she expected. Sure, her uncle Jack had casually mentioned things like aliens and spaceships to her before, but she always expected it to be more of a fairy tale. Now, she'd died, come back to life as a different person, been chased by an alien and wound up in a police box that was actually a space ship. She should probably freak out.

"'Oh'?" The Doctor frowned at her. "That's it? Just 'oh'?"

"Sorry?" Alex shrugged. Apparently she was suppose to freak out. "Should I scream and run around in a circle?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." The Doctor threw a lever forward and the ground shook beneath them. The throbbing humming sound started up once more.

Alex grabbed a bar to hold herself steady. "What's going on?!"

"Had to move." The Doctor said. "Can't let the Slitheen torch down the TARDIS, now can we?"

The sound started to fade. She looked around the room. Outside the metal spider-leg things seemed to be a rather posh, Victorian living area that matched his style of dress.

"Slitheen?" Alex asked and glanced back to the doorway. "That thing chasing us?"

"Chasing you, yes." The Doctor said. He pulled one more lever and turned towards her. "Now, want to tell me who you are and why they are after you?"

"Did we move?" Alex asked. He did say it was a spaceship after all.

"Yes."

"Then what about this Slitheen?" She replied. "Isn't it still wondering around out there with a flame thrower?"

The Doctor waived his hand in the air. "Oh, don't worry about that. I saw some well equipt militia running towards her. Probably UNIT. They'll take care of it."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "If I know why they are after you I can be better prepared to stop it."

"Considering I have no idea what a 'Slitheen' was before this conversation, you think I know why they are after me?" Alex snorted. She crossed the floor over to the entrance. "What happens if I open this door?"

He leaned up against the control panel and crossed his arms. "See for yourself."

Alex pulled open the door. Outside was not the industrial alley they just escaped from, but instead it was the courtyard she fled from only moments before. In the courtyard stood the giant theater building she'd only just escaped. Her faced paled.

"You are with them!" She gasped. She'd been tricked. She hadn't escaped after all. Oh, her uncle was going to be so upset with her.

"With who? UNIT?" The Doctor shook his head. "Not really. Well, in a way. Yes, I suppose."

"No, Torchwood." Alex took a step outside. In the back of her mind she knew that it was incredibly amazing and awesome that she'd just taken a trip in a space ship, but at that moment all she could think about was trying to escape.

"Never heard of them." The Doctor replied as he followed her outside.

"Alex!" A voice cried out from across the courtyard.

Alex groaned. She didn't know why, there was no way she was going to escape them. She sighed as she watched Sarah running towards them.

"Whose that?" The Doctor asked.

"Just a coffee girl." Alex replied. She didn't feel like explaining. She was still focused on the fact that she hadn't escaped after all. She let her shoulders fall and took half a step towards the oncoming girl. "Well, time to face the music."


	5. The Slitheen

"Alex, we need to get you inside." Sarah said as she reached them. She was surprisingly out of breath. Alex guessed she must have been running all over Cardiff the way she was huffing and puffing.

Alex frowned. She really didn't want to just go with the girl. She probably should put up some sort of a fight. After all, her adrenaline was still going. She glanced over at the Doctor. No idea who he was, or if he was even human, but since he didn't know what Torchwood was, she supposed he didn't have the clearance or whatever. On one hand, it meant she could trust him more than Sarah or Jack or anyone else at Torchwood. On the other hand, it meant she couldn't trust him at all.

With a heavy sigh, Alex decided she couldn't run from her uncle forever. Besides, she had a lot to process. She'd been trying to get to the next point so fast she didn't have time to think about what was really going on. She was a new person – literally. That alone would take forever to understand.

"Alright. I'll go with you." She frowned and took a step towards Sarah.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" The Doctor asked.

Alex shrugged.

"It'll be alright." Sarah said. "Let's move quickly, though. There are enemies in the area."

"Yes, indeed there are." The Doctor said slowly.

Alex wondered what he was thinking. He seemed a bit hesitant about something. "It's okay, really." She assured him. "Sarah is a friend of my uncle."

The Doctor eyed her for a moment, then shook his head lightly. "Alright. I'll be off then. I've got to go find the Slitheen."

"Come on. Quickly." Sarah put her hand on Alex's back and turned her towards the giant theater building.

As they walked towards the building, Alex could hear that strange throbbing sound of the space ship behind her. She was tempted to look, but somehow managed not to.

Uncle Jack was going to be so disappointed in her.

* * *

Jack Hartness leaned up against the building and wiped the sweat off his brow.

"That didn't go as cleanly as I would have liked." Mike said with a callous grin.

"Tell me about it." Jack chuckled. "Last time I ever blow up a Slitheen."

Mike smiled at him and then straightened himself up. He rolled his shoulder and bent his arm a few times. Nothing seemed to be damaged.

The two of them stood in the industrial alley. They'd managed to trace the Slitheen into the place, as well as the Doctor. Though the Doctor got away, with Alex apparently, the Slitheen was then cornered. It turned to attack them with the flame gun so Mike did what any person under attack would do – he shot first. The thing blew up and spewed foul smelling blobs of goo all over the place. If they'd been a few feet closer to the alien, both Jack and Mike would have been covered. Even clear of the goo, they both were heavily saturated with the horrible smell.

Jack lifted his head up as his breath started to come back to him. "She went in the TARDIS with him, didn't she?"

Mike paused for a second, then nodded. He knew how dangerous it was for the Doctor to know about Alex. Especially with the Doctor as young as he was.

"Dammit!" Jack slammed his hand back against the wall. He tapped his earpiece. "Gwen, tell me they didn't go far!"

Gwen's voice came out of the earpiece. "All's fine, Jack. The TARDIS appeared in the courtyard and Sarah grabbed Alex. They're heading back inside now. The TARDIS and the Doctor are gone. I don't think he knows anything."

"Good." Jack said. He looked over at Mike. "You get that?"

Mike's face was pale. His eyes widened and he stared at Jack.

"What?" Jack asked.

Mike could feel his throat dry up and he didn't even know if he could speak. Somehow, the words managed to escape him, though barely recognizable.

"That's not Sarah."

* * *

Alex crinkled her nose as the two of them entered the building. She knew Sarah had been running around a lot, given her breathing, but her sweat was almost unbearably stinky. Alex considered herself polite, but this was pushing her limits of how nice she could be.

"Hurry." Sarah said, pushing Alex to go faster.

"No need to rush me to my execution." Alex grumbled. Her feet nearly tripped over themselves as she picked up her walking pace. They were inside now. She was surprised Jack didn't have a plethora of guards surrounding her already. There was no way she was going to escape again.

He was going to wipe her memory. She would forget all about this. About her new face. About her old one. About how Jack said she was something called a Time Lord and 217 years old. About the Slitheen who wanted her. About the man called the Doctor and his space ship. Alex took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Maybe it was for the best that she forgot. After an adventure like that, how could she go on living a boring, normal life?

The Slitheen pushed her through another door and out into the sunlight. Alex blinked as they stepped outside.

"Aren't we going back to Torchwood?" Alex asked. A glimmer of hope hit her. Maybe the coffee girl was on her side after all.

"The Nightvale are not in Torchwood." Sarah growled back at her.

Alex stopped walking. "What?"

Sarah grabbed her hand with impressive strength and yanked her forward. Alex forced herself to keep from gagging. Somehow the smell was getting worse, even though they were outside.

"Hurry up!" Sarah growled. "We can't keep them waiting!"

"Um." Alex tried to pull her hand back. When Sarah didn't slow down or loosen her grip, Alex began to tug harder. She dug her heels into the ground and tried to stop from moving forward. It didn't work. Sarah was far too strong for her. "What are you doing!? Let me go!"

"Yelling won't save you." Sarah pulled Alex forward.

They were coming up on what looked like a giant red church. Beyond the church was a bay. Alex could hear cars and people close-by. "Hey!" She cried out. "Over here! Someone help me!"

"I said it won't save you." Sarah growled.

As the woman tugged her over towards a service entrance next to the bay, Alex realized she was right. The noise of the street was too much and drowned her out.

Sarah stopped at the door to the service building. It was a small shack that would hold just the two of them. Though as Sarah opened the large door, Alex noticed stairs going down.

This was it, Alex thought. If she went down there, she'd never come back up.

* * *

_A/N: I still haven't found a beta reader (I'm pretty sure it's obvious), if anyone is still interested. ^^ I've come down with a cold so I may not be able to post for a couple more days, but I'm working on this. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for reading this! _3


	6. The Chase

"Where are they!?" Jack threw open the door so hard it bounced off the wall and nearly hit him back.

Gwen scrambled up to her feet. "I was able to find video of them walking through the building, but they went out back and into a service hatch. We have no cameras down there."

Jack dropped down into his desk and started to flip through the cameras on his computer screen. "Mike?"

"I'm on it." Mike said through his earpiece. "I'll be there in two minutes."

"You've got 30 seconds." Jack growled.

Gwen frowned to herself but didn't say anything. When Jack was like this, it was best to not bother him, no matter how overbearing he got.

"He's mistaken." Jack put his elbows on his desk and dropped his head into his hands. "He has to be. The Slitheen only inhibit fat people. I know this. It's all in the file from when the Doctor and Rose-"

"Actually, sir." Gwen interrupted. It wasn't good news telling him the truth, but there was no other choice. She dropped down into her desk chair and pulled a file up on her computer. "There was a report a few years back. An event headed by Sarah Jane Smith, I believe."

"Her?" Jack lifted his head.

"Yes." Gwen continued. "The Slitheen developed a more advanced compression field, allowing them to get very small. Even child-sized."

Jack lifted up to his feet and tossed his arm across his desk. Pens, a couple note pads and his keyboard flew onto the floor. Without a word, he march back to the door.

Gwen took in a deep breath. Things were never easy when they got personal like this. But there was no time to be sad about Sarah. Not now.

* * *

The stairs leading down were old, rusted metal that creaked far too much as they decended. Alex clung onto the railing with her free hand, but Sarah was making it difficult for her to keep her balance well.

"Come on!" Sarah said as she yanked her hand.

Alex yelped as she missed the step and barely caught the next one. "If you keep pulling me, I'm going to fall!"

Sarah didn't seem to notice or care. She continued to drag Alex down the stairs until they reached the bottom. What looked like large sewer tunnels sprawled out in three directions from where they stood. The walls were damp and puddles decorated the cement floor. There were echoes coming from one tunnel, but they were too muddled for Alex to even tell what they were.

Sarah paused for a moment, then pulled Alex off down the tunnel with the echoes.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked.

"Shut up."

"Alex!" A voice echoes down from up the stairs. It wasn't uncle Jack's voice, but anyone was better than Sarah right now. She knew Sarah worked with Torchwood, but whatever she was doing now didn't have the same agenda that her uncle would have.

Alex turned to look, but Sarah tugged the girl into the tunnel and out of sight.

"I'm here!" Alex shouted back.

"Keep quiet and hurry up!" Sarah sneered and somehow picked up her pace.

Alex felt like she was tripped over her feet as she nearly ran to keep up. She tried to splash in as many of the puddles as she could, though it wasn't really necessary. Their footsteps alone were loud enough to echo.

"Jack's on his way!" The voice came back again.

"Tell him to run!" Alex shouted.

Sarah turned, grabbed Alex by the throat, and slammed her up against the wall. The air was knocked out of her lungs, but not before the awful stench of Sarah hit her. Alex groaned and coughed as Sarah let go. For a second there, she almost fell to her knees, but Sarah was on the move again, dragging Alex behind her.

"Slow down!" Alex coughed. She rubbed at her throat with her free hand.

"Say another word and I'll take you out." Sarah threatened. "The Nightvale do not need you alive."

The fear finally settled into Alex and she backed off. Her throat and feet were sore. She didn't want to push her luck that much. Besides, Torchwood and her uncle weren't far behind. She'd be alright if she didn't get herself killed by being a smartass.

They rounded a corner into a large circular room. The walls reached up high above them and several tunnels branched off. The echoing sound was getting louder. Alex still couldn't make out what it was, but it sounded like some sort of mechanical clunking. Like an old car that wasn't quite working right.

Sarah twirled Alex around and pushed her out into the middle of the room, then pulled out a small black box.

Alex stumbled back and caught her footing. She was free. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't being held anymore. She took a step forward to start running and Sarah pushed a button on the black box with a beep.

A transparent green light surrounded her. Alex bounced off the wall. She spun around and put her hand out, but the green light stopped her again. With a groan, Alex threw her weight up against the nearly invisible wall, but it stopped her from going through.

"Let me out!" Alex yelled.

* * *

Jack ran as fast as he could. The water on the floor made it slick enough that he nearly fell over, but somehow he managed to keep his footing. He could hear Alex yelling; her echoes guided him down the tunnel.

By the time he reached the circular room, Mike was already there. He had his weapon drawn and pointed at Sarah. Sarah didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were on Alex as she fiddled with a black box in her hands. Alex was in the center of the room, surrounded by a green light that looked like a force field keeping her locked in.

"Give it up." Jack said as he pulled out his own gun. He side-stepped behind Mike and around Sarah to flank her. "You've got nowhere to go."

Sarah glanced up for a moment, then looked back down at her black box.

"You're surrounded. Let her go!" Jack demanded.

A voice, deep and alien, echoed through the central room. "I don't think so." The large alien that had chased Alex before stepped out into the clearing with the large flame gun pointed at Mike.

"Drop your weapon or he's toast." The Slitheen said.

Mike dropped his gun and help his hands up in the air with a scowl.

Jack grimaced. He considered, really considered there, for a moment of not letting go. After all, this was Alex he was trying to save here. She was more important, to him AND the world, than a Torchwood employee. They all knew the risks and would die for the sake of humanity.

But he'd already lost Sarah today. He couldn't lose Mike as well.

With reluctance, Jack slowly lowered his gun. He let each finger peel off until it slipped off his pinky and clattered to the ground, then raised his hands up in the air.

* * *

_A/N: Since I have received a few questions on the matter, I decided to clear it up again in this chapter. The more advanced compression field was included in the Sarah Jane Adventures, which is probably why it isn't as well known. However, I assure you, since this takes place long after Sarah Jane Adventures (well, by long I don't mean decades or anything!), the Slitheen can compress themselves into smaller people and objects._


End file.
